Summary
In People v Jenkins (50 N.Y.2d 981), the Court of Appeals held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to sever counts charging two unrelated robberies of gasoline stations which occurred within three days of each other.
Summary of this case from People v. Lee JonesOpinion
Argued June 3, 1980
Decided June 26, 1980
Appeal from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the First Judicial Department, JOSEPH P. SULLIVAN, J.
Michael A. Ciaffa and William E. Hellerstein for appellant.
Mario Merola, District Attorney (Harold Kenneth King, Jr., and Alan D. Marrus of counsel), for respondent.
MEMORANDUM.
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.
It was permissible to join the two robberies in a single indictment because the offenses were "the same or similar in law" (CPL 200.20, subd 2, par [c]). The defendant's motion to sever was addressed to the trial court's discretion (CPL 200.20, subd 3). On this record it cannot be said that the court abused its discretion as a matter of law in denying the defendant's motion for a severance.
Chief Judge COOKE and Judges JASEN, GABRIELLI, JONES, WACHTLER, FUCHSBERG and MEYER concur.
Order affirmed in a memorandum.